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Python Code Samples

Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.

37 matches
Strings & text easy

How to Align Text in Two Columns with ljust in Python

Format pairs of strings into two aligned columns using ljust padding.

string-formatting ljust alignment
Python
items = [
    ("apple", "red"),
    ("banana", "yellow"),
    ("cherry", "dark red"),
    ("date", "brown")
]

col1_width = max(len(name) for name, _ in items) + 2

for name, color in items:
    print(name.ljust(col1_width) + color)
15 0 Open
Lists & loops easy

How to Transpose a Matrix in Python (List of Lists)

Swap rows and columns of a 2D list using nested loops to produce a transposed matrix.

matrix transpose 2d-list
Python
def transpose(matrix):
    # Number of rows and columns in the original matrix
    rows = len(matrix)
    cols = len(matrix[0]) if rows > 0 else 0
    
    # Create a new matrix with dimensions swapped
    result = []
    for j in range(cols):
        new_row = []
        for i in range(rows):
            new_row.appe…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Detect Outliers in CSV Data Using Z-Score in Python

Read a CSV file and detect outliers in a numeric column by computing z-scores, flagging those exceeding a given threshold — no machine learning required.

outlier-detection z-score csv
Python
import csv
import statistics
from math import sqrt

def detect_outliers(csv_path, column_name, threshold=2.0):
    """Detect outliers in a numeric column using z-score method."""
    values = []
    with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        if column_name not in reader.field…
50 0 Open
Files & data easy

Export SQLite Query Results to CSV in Python

Connects to a SQLite database, runs a query, and writes the result rows and column headers to a CSV file using the standard library.

sqlite csv export
Python
import sqlite3
import csv

def export_query_to_csv(db_path, query, csv_path):
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    cursor.execute(query)

    rows = cursor.fetchall()
    column_names = [description[0] for description in cursor.description]

    with open(csv_path, 'w', newline='', encodi…
17 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Convert CSV Column Types While Reading in Python

Read a CSV file and automatically convert column values to int, float, str, or bool based on type suffixes in the header names.

csv type-conversion file-io
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any

def read_csv_with_types(filepath: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
    """Read CSV and convert column types based on header suffixes."""
    converters = {
        "int": int,
        "float": float,
        "str": str,
        "bool": lambda v: v.strip().lower(…
11 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Filter CSV Rows by Column Value in Python

Filter CSV rows based on a column value condition using the standard csv module and a lambda function.

csv filter file-io
Python
import csv

def filter_csv(input_file, output_file, column, condition):
    with open(input_file, newline='', encoding='utf-8') as infile, \
         open(output_file, 'w', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as outfile:
        reader = csv.DictReader(infile)
        fieldnames = reader.fieldnames
        writer = csv.Dict…
19 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Handle Missing Values in a CSV Numeric Column in Python

Clean missing entries in a CSV numeric column by filling them with the mean, median, a custom value, or dropping rows.

csv data-cleaning statistics
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path
import statistics

def clean_csv_numeric(input_path: str, output_path: str, column: str, strategy: str = "mean") -> None:
    """
    Handles missing values in a numeric column of a CSV file.
    Strategies: 'mean', 'median', 'drop', or 'fill' with a specified value.
    """
    row…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Sum a CSV Column by Group in Python

This code reads a CSV string and sums a specified column for each unique value of a group key using the csv module and defaultdict.

csv aggregation data-summary
Python
import csv
from collections import defaultdict
from io import StringIO

def aggregate_csv(csv_data, group_key, sum_column):
    totals = defaultdict(float)
    reader = csv.DictReader(StringIO(csv_data))
    for row in reader:
        key = row[group_key]
        totals[key] += float(row[sum_column])
    return dict(t…
12 0 Open
Files & data medium

Join two CSV files on shared key column in Python

Merge rows from two CSV files by a common key column, outputting combined records to a new file.

csv join dictreader
Python
import csv

def join_csv(file1, file2, key, output="joined.csv"):
    # Read first CSV into dict keyed by the join column
    with open(file1, newline="") as f1:
        reader1 = csv.DictReader(f1)
        data1 = {row[key]: row for row in reader1}

    # Read second CSV and merge matching rows
    with open(file2, n…
15 0 Open
Files & data easy

Normalize CSV Column Names to snake_case in Python

Convert CSV header names to snake_case using a regular expression and write the updated file in place.

csv regex snake-case
Python
import csv
import re
import sys


def to_snake_case(header):
    header = re.sub(r"(?<=[a-z0-9])(?=[A-Z])", "_", header)
    header = re.sub(r"[^a-zA-Z0-9]+", "_", header).strip("_").lower()
    return header


def normalize_csv_headers(input_path, output_path=None):
    with open(input_path, newline="", encoding="utf…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Parse Fixed Width Data File by Column Slices in Python

Extract fields from fixed-width text by slicing each line at defined column offsets, with a dictionary describing the boundaries.

fixed-width string-slicing parsing
Python
from pathlib import Path


def parse_fixed_width(data: str, slices: dict[str, tuple[int, int]]) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
    lines = data.strip().splitlines()
    records = []
    for line in lines:
        record = {}
        for name, (start, end) in slices.items():
            record[name] = line[start:end].strip()…
13 0 Open
Files & data medium

Read Parquet-Like Columnar CSV Chunks in Python

A Python generator that reads a CSV file column-by-column, yielding dictionary chunks where each key points to a list of values—mirroring how Parquet stores data columnar.

csv columnar generator
Python
```python
import csv
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Iterator, List

def read_parquet_like_columnar(csv_path: str, column_names: List[str], chunk_size: int = 2) -> Iterator[dict]:
    """Read CSV data in columnar chunks, similar to how parquet stores columns."""
    csv_file = Path(csv_path)
    with csv_f…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Read a CSV File with csv.DictReader in Python

Read a CSV file as a list of dictionaries, using csv.DictReader to map each row to column names.

csv csv-dictreader file-reading
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path

def read_csv_with_dictreader(file_path):
    data = []
    with open(file_path, mode='r', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as csvfile:
        reader = csv.DictReader(csvfile)
        for row in reader:
            data.append(row)
    return data

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Cre…
10 0 Open
OOP & classes easy

Parse CSV Data with a Python Class

Encapsulate CSV file loading and column/row access methods in a reusable DataParser class for beginners.

oop csv parsing
Python
class DataParser:
    def __init__(self, file_path):
        self.file_path = file_path
        self.data = []

    def load_data(self):
        with open(self.file_path, 'r') as file:
            for line in file:
                row = line.strip().split(',')
                self.data.append(row)
        return self.…
12 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures medium

Set Matrix Zeroes in Python: Markers List Grid Demo

Given a matrix, this code finds all rows and columns that contain a zero and sets every element in those rows and columns to zero, using boolean marker arrays.

matrix arrays algorithm
Python
def set_zeroes(matrix):
    rows, cols = len(matrix), len(matrix[0])
    row_markers = [False] * rows
    col_markers = [False] * cols

    # First pass: record which rows and columns contain zeros
    for i in range(rows):
        for j in range(cols):
            if matrix[i][j] == 0:
                row_markers[i] …
14 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures medium

Validate Sudoku Board Rows Columns and Boxes in Python

Validate a 9x9 Sudoku board by checking that each row, column, and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once.

sudoku validation matrix
Python
def validate_sudoku(board):
    def is_valid_group(group):
        return sorted(group) == list(range(1, 10))

    def get_columns():
        return [[board[r][c] for r in range(9)] for c in range(9)]

    def get_boxes():
        boxes = []
        for box_row in range(0, 9, 3):
            for box_col in range(0, 9,…
11 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Automatically Generate Charts from CSV Files with One Command

Read a CSV file with headers, extract the first two numeric columns, and save a matplotlib line chart as a PNG image.

csv matplotlib charting
Python
import csv
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

def generate_chart(csv_path: str) -> None:
    """Read a CSV file with headers and plot the first two numeric columns."""
    data = []
    with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
        reader = csv.reader(f)
        headers = next(re…
64 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Convert HTML Tables to Excel Reports in Python

Convert HTML tables into formatted Excel reports using BeautifulSoup and Pandas with auto-adjusted column widths.

html excel beautifulsoup
Python
import pandas as pd
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from pathlib import Path

def html_table_to_excel(html_file: str, excel_file: str) -> None:
    """Convert HTML table to formatted Excel report."""
    with open(html_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
        html_content = f.read()
    
    soup = BeautifulSoup(html_…
45 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

Build a Python Utility That Detects Duplicate Records Across Multiple Excel Sheets

A Python utility that uses pandas to find overlapping records across different Excel sheets based on specified key columns.

pandas excel data cleaning
Python
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path

def find_duplicate_records_across_sheets(file_path: str, key_columns: list, sheet_names: list) -> dict:
    """
    Detect duplicate records across multiple Excel sheets based on specified key columns.
    
    Args:
        file_path: Path to the Excel file
        key_co…
46 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

Check Null Rate Threshold in PySpark DataFrame

This PySpark code checks the null rate of specified DataFrame columns against a threshold and returns violations.

pyspark data quality null check
Python
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql.functions import col, sum, count

def check_null_rate(df, threshold=0.2, columns=None):
    """
    Check null rate for specified columns (or all) against a threshold.
    Returns columns that exceed the threshold.
    """
    cols = columns or df.columns
    total…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Unpivot Wide to Long with pandas melt in Python

This code demonstrates how to use pandas.melt to unpivot a wide DataFrame into a tidy long format, converting subject columns into rows.

pandas melt reshape
Python
import pandas as pd

# Sample wide-format data
df_wide = pd.DataFrame({
    'id': [1, 2, 3],
    'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
    'math': [90, 85, 95],
    'science': [80, 92, 88]
})

print("Original wide DataFrame:")
print(df_wide)

# Melt: unpivot subject columns into rows
df_long = pd.melt(
    df_wide,
   …
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to detect anomalies in a column using z-score in Python

Detect outliers in a list of numbers using z-score statistics, flagging values that deviate significantly from the mean.

anomaly-detection z-score statistics
Python
import random

def z_score_anomaly_detection(data, threshold=2.0):
    """
    Detect anomalies in a list of numbers using z-score.
    """
    mean = sum(data) / len(data)
    variance = sum((x - mean) ** 2 for x in data) / len(data)
    std_dev = variance ** 0.5
    
    if std_dev == 0:
        return []
    
    a…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

Pivot long to wide transformation dict

Transform a list of dictionaries from long format to wide format by pivoting on a key column and aggregating values, using pure Python.

pivot transformation data-cleaning
Python
def pivot_long_to_wide(rows, key_col, value_col, id_cols=None):
    """
    Convert long-format data (list of dicts) to wide format.
    
    Args:
        rows: List of dicts in long format
        key_col: Column name to pivot on (becomes new column headers)
        value_col: Column name whose values become the cel…
11 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Union Multiple DataFrames with Aligned Columns in Python

Concatenate DataFrames with different columns, aligning them and filling missing values with NaN using pandas concat.

pandas dataframes concat
Python
import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO

# Sample dataframes with different columns
df1 = pd.DataFrame({
    'id': [1, 2, 3],
    'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
    'age': [25, 30, 35]
})

df2 = pd.DataFrame({
    'id': [4, 5],
    'name': ['Diana', 'Eve'],
    'city': ['NYC', 'LA']
})

df3 = pd.DataFrame({
…
14 0 Open

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Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Guide: free Python code samples library

Copy-ready Python snippets for learners and developers

PythonSkillset code samples are short, focused examples organised by topic and difficulty. Every snippet is server-rendered HTML — readable by search engines and easy to copy. Open any sample, read the notes, copy the code, then press Try in editor to run it in the browser with Pyodide.

How to use this library

  1. Pick a topic section — strings, lists, files, functions, and more
  2. Open a sample, read How it works, and copy the code block
  3. Run it in the IDE, tweak values, then take a related quiz or tutorial lesson

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.